RSU 10 board approves roughly $45M FY27 budget after votes that trim staff and programs

The Western Foothills Regional School Unit 10 School Board voted Wednesday to approve a fiscal year 2027 budget that trims staff positions and some programs while keeping several recommended hires and equipment purchases.

The board approved a preliminary FY27 spending plan of about $45.1 million to present to the annual budget meeting, a package administrators said would raise town assessments roughly 5.28% overall and increase the district operating budget by nearly 4.9% from the prior year. Board members said the package reflects painful trade-offs to reduce the district’s reliance on carryover and to present a budget they believe voters can support.

Administrators told the board they had been asked to find deep reductions; the roll-call series that followed disaggregated dozens of line items. The board approved the purchase and testing of a returned bucket loader, confirmed appointments including a new Region 9 representative and school psychologist, and approved some program cuts. Notable formal outcomes included passage of a motion to reduce the Mountain Valley Community School principal position and approval to eliminate the school’s Alpine Nordic skiing program. A separate motion to reduce a pair of high-school positions — math and English teachers at Mountain Valley High School — failed, while a distinct motion cutting the French teaching position passed.

Superintendent Deb (as recorded in the meeting) and business manager Leah presented the budget and described how a mix of staff reductions, program changes and equipment decisions brought the overall town assessment into a range the administration judged feasible for voters. The board debated dozens of personnel motions — reductions in guidance counselor, librarian and administrative positions, several special-education ed‑tech reductions and a proposed cut to a Buckfield nurse — with some motions passing and others failing on roll call.

Public commenters and several staff urged the board to protect transportation and core instructional roles. "Without anybody at the bus garage to address these issues, it wouldn't take long for us to run out of buses to transport our students," said Steve Garcia, who identified himself as a district mechanic and urged restoring mechanics capacity. First-grade teacher Sarah Marshall and Mountain Valley High School math teacher Lisa Russell addressed the board before votes, arguing that proposed teacher cuts would push class sizes to or beyond RSU 10 policy limits and undermine recent gains in student growth scores.

Board members acknowledged the difficulty of the choices. Several members said they preferred restoring specific positions if further savings could be found elsewhere; others worried about the fiscal risk of presenting a higher number to voters. During late discussions members agreed to trim several equipment and central-office lines to lower the budget’s town-assessment impact before the final vote.

The board approved administrative recommendations to hire Kelsey Stevens as an RSU 10 school psychologist and Carly Georgian as a special-education teacher, and appointed Christopher Brennick to represent RSU 10 on the Region 9 board. The board also approved a purchase recommendation from the buildings, grounds and transportation committee to reimburse $1,000 for work on a bucket loader and to evaluate the machine before deciding whether to keep or dispose of it.

The board will present the adopted budget at the annual budget meeting; board members said the district will continue to monitor enrollment, staffing vacancies and punch-list expenses at the new Mountain Valley Community School and may revisit operational details based on updated enrollment and carryover figures.